Excelsior... Nation

IMA to witness many changes: Shergill

DEHRA DUN, May 13: For the first time in its seventy-year history, the prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehra Dun, is all set to witness ....more

Prima-facie sabotage behind derailment

NEW DELHI, May 13: Sabotage was the prima-facie cause of the derailment of the Patna-bound Shramjeevi Express....more

Move to earn UNRSCO status for Nilgiri rail

UDHAGAMANDALAM, May 13: The vintage track takes umpteen curves across the rolling blue hills, laying path for the timeless steam locomotive to ..more

Modi Govt should go,
says Digvijay

BHOPAL, May 13: The Centre should dismiss the Narendra Modi Government and promulgate President’s Rule in riot-riven Gujarat, if it was keen to restore normalcy in that state, says Madhya ....more

Jayalalithaa gives up
alliance politics

CHENNAI, May 13: AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has given a go by to alliance politics in the May 31 by-elections ...more

Global community can
now express legitimate
concern: Sorabjee

JAIPUR, May 13: Attorney General Soli Sorabjee today said India cannot brush aside concern voiced by some foreign countries on the Gujarat....more

No differences in
Jharkhand NDA

RANCHI, May 13: NDA’s Jharkhand convenor Gautam Sagar Rana today said he had dissociated himself from the NDA coordination committee and ....more

RS not secondary chamber: Kant

NEW DELHI, May 13: Asserting Rajya Sabha is not a secondary chamber, Chairman Krishan Kant today said it....more

IMA to witness many changes: Shergill

DEHRA DUN, May 13: For the first time in its seventy-year history, the prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehra Dun, is all set to witness several ideological and academic changes, alongwith a new "code of the warrior" that would complement the famous credo of the IMA.

In an exclusive interview to UNI here, Lt Gen Tajinder Singh Shergill, IMA Commandant, spoke in detail about the various changes to be introduced at the academy "before change forces us to change". The "code of the warrior" framed by Gen Shergill would complement the famous credo of the IMA that is engraved in gold in the historic Chetwode Hall of the Academy.

The code which every Gentleman Cadet (GC) at the IMA will now be given reads: "I am a warrior, fighting is my dharma, I will train my mind, body and spirit to fight, excel in all devices and weapons of war present and future, always protect the weak, be truthful to bluntness, be humane, cultured and compassionate, fight and embrace the consequences, god give me strength that I ask nothing of you."

The IMA credo, which is a part of the historic inaugural speech by Field Marshal Philip Chetwode on December 10,1932, reads: "The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and everytime. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and everytime."

"The credo does not clearly articulate what the the man must himself be as a warrior. The ‘code of the warrior’ will impel all soldiers to be warriors as long as they are in uniform. It cuts across racial, ethnic and religious barriers," said Gen Shergill who took over as he IMA Commandant on October 10, 2001.

"Being a true warrior is an ideal worth striving for," he said, adding, "this code will inspire every warrior in times of stress, doubt or wavering."

"We at the IMA have realised the need to change before change forces us to change ourselves," said Gen Shergill while talking about the new kits introduced by the academy. "Correct kits are crucial in a war. If our boys have the right boots, the right rucksacks and other equipment, they can sustain longer and better than the adversary," he said.

When the next batch of officers pass out from the IMA on June eight, they would be given the new kits designed by the IMA."In April, we displayed this new kit at the Army Commander’s conference in New Delhi and it was highly appreciated," the Commandant said. After equipping itself to be part of the it revolution, the IMA is now geared up for the knowledge revolution as well. The officers who pass out of the ima would now be post graduates in leadership.

"We are in the process of finalising the syllabus and the affiliation with a university for the post graduate course for the cadets here," Gen Shergill said.

"We are now in the knowledge age. It is knowledge and its exploitation which will lead us to victories in battle," he said, adding, "fighting is no longer all about being rough and tough".

He said that soon, cadets at the Army cadet college of the IMA, who now get degrees of BA and BSc, will be undergoing BBA and BCA courses instead. As far as it is concerned, the IMA went in for a lot of changes last year. Two internet labs came up at the academy, an IMA website was created and small arms simulators installed for tactical training. "By December this year, we will have a PC for every GC," said the Commandant. Training through the computers in counter-insurgency operations has been greatly advanced at the IMA. Real-life conditions are simulated and live firing is part of this training. The IMA is also concentrating on adventure activities for the GCs, he said.

Also tennis, fencing, shooting and equestrian training facilities have been upgraded.

"For a long time now, there has been an effort to establish the ima on a larger scale and we are finally getting down to doing this. We have got land and a key location plan which has now been implemented. Accommodation for GCs and a new academic block is already under construction," the Commandant said.

Before assuming appointment of Commandant, IMA, Gen Shergill was GOC of a Corps in the eastern sector. He is Colonel Deccan Horse, the Scinde horse and 90 armoured regiment. He was commissioned into the Deccan Horse on February nine, 1964 from the IMA and was awarded the Vishishta Sewa Medal January 26,2002.

Gen Shergill is the author of the book "counter-insurgency support to a host nation" and has also written monographs on "urban insurgency " and "the politics of international terrorism". (UNI)

Prima-facie sabotage behind derailment

NEW DELHI, May 13: Sabotage was the prima-facie cause of the derailment of the Patna-bound Shramjeevi Express yesterday in which 12 people were killed, according to a preliminary enquiry.

"The preliminary enquiry at site has reported the prima-facie cause of the incident as sabotage," an official release said here today.

Railway Minister Nitish Kumar told reporters in Patna yesterday that several fish plates were removed from the tracks.

Northern Railway Chief PRO Devender Sandhu said that a preliminary enquiry had found nothing wrong with the track or the locomotive.

Sandhu said "fish plates have been lying in such a condition near the track which does not indicate that it was an accident."

He said a notification for an inquiry is expected to be issued today.

At least 70 people received injuries when the train was passing over a small bridge on a narrow dry canal and the derailment occurred after 11 bogies had crossed the bridge.

Railways Minister Nitish Kumar, along with senior officials, were at the site to supervise relief and rescue operations.

Kumar also visited the injured in hospitals, and announced ex-gratia payments for the affected passengers.

Two cranes have reached the site of derailment for early restoration of rail traffic on the affected section, it said.

A special train with 560 passengers had left Varanasi and another train carrying 1200 passengers of the affected train was on way to Patna, it added. (PTI)

Move to earn UNRSCO status for Nilgiri rail

UDHAGAMANDALAM, May 13: The vintage track takes umpteen curves across the rolling blue hills, laying path for the timeless steam locomotive to slither along a Sylvan landscape punctuated by narrow tunnels and precarious bridges — all adding to its features that might fetch global recognition for the rail line.

The century-old Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR), covering a distance of 45 km with an elevation of 6,500 ft above sea level, could acquire UNESCO heritage status if a bid by the authorities to take up the matter with the world body finds success.

Already, the Palakkad division of the Southern Railway has initiated steps in this regard, according to a top railway official.

"The NMR, originating from Mettupalayam at the foot of the Nilgiris and terminating at Udhagamandalam (Ooty), has 208 curves, 16 tunnels and 250-odd bridges along its stretch. Also, the rack-and-pinion stystem of operation being employed in NMR is the only one of its kind in the world today", he told UNI.

The 1899-founded NMR has Asia’s steepest track at one of its stretches. "Only the swiss mountain railway system of the alps can be compared with NMR", the official averred.

National Rail Museum Director Rajesh Agrawal said the Southern Railway, in its run-up to earn NMR an UNESCO recognition, has documented its technological uniqueness and historical richness.

"A paper based on this will be sent to the UNESCO early next year so as to claim the heritage status", pointed out Mr Agrawal, who was in Mettupalayam on Saturday as part of the commemoration of 150 years of the Indian Railways. Once the endeavour is materialised, NMR will see increased tourist inflow — significantly from abroad, the official he observed, adding that the Darjeeling Hill Railway is the only similar establishment in the country to have got world heritage status following an UNESCO decision.

Minister of State for Railways O Rajagopal expressed pleasure that NMR had earned a special place of pride among all establishments under Indian Railway.

"Considering its vintage value, NMR would be preserved in its original form. There is no question of its modernisation", he said at the Mettupalayam function while flagging off a heritage special Nilgiris Mountain Railway train.

The steam-powered NMR train hauls 32 coaches and is capable of running at a maximum speed of 30 kilometres per hour. In the rack section, its maximum speed is 13 kmph. The steam locomotives are kept in good condition.

Though the NMR does not earn a hefty revenue, it spends Rs 35 million annually to sustain the interest of the tourists and keep alive its heritage value.

The NMR has tremendously boosted the prospects of tourism gaining ground on the hills as, prior to its introduction, travellers were forced to either trek for as many as ten days or ride 48 hours on horseback to reach Udhagamandalam. The NMR history reveals that various proposals were mooted to build a mountain railway from Mettupalayam to the Nilgiri plateau since 1854. But it was only by 1874 that the matter was taken up seriously.

During 1882, Mr M Riggenbach, the Swiss Inventor of Rigi System of Mountain Railways, submitted a proposal for rack runway at an estimate of 132,000 pounds. This was handed over to the Nilgiri Rigi Railway Company Limited, formed to construct the line with the support of the British Government.

But procedural and contractual wrangles in both Britain and India prevented the scheme from taking off. Eventually, Mr Richard Wooley of Coonoor launched a new establishment named the Nilgiri Railway Company in 1885 to take up the project. (interestingly, Mr Wooley himself later became manager and agent of the Nilgiri Railways)

The firm, with a capital of Rs 25 lakh, made a proposal for the construction of a "rack line", which was officially ratified in 1886 when it entered into a contract with the Secretary of State for India, Government of great Britain.

Accordingly, in 1889, the requisite capital was raised in London and consequently, in August, 1891, the first sod of the line was cut by Lord Wenlock, the then Governor of Madras Presidency. The line was initially completed between Mettupalayam and Coonoor and opened for public traffic on June 15, 1899, by the Madras Railway. The line was sold to the Government for 2,35,000 pounds.

The track was later extended upto Udhagamandalam from Coonoor at a cost of Rs 24 lakh during 1908 and thrown open for public traffic on October 15 the same year. (UNI)

Modi Govt should go, says Digvijay

He told UNI here today that the Centre and Bharatiya Janata Party should take cognizance of the manner in which Mr Modi handled the situation, and initiate concrete action.

Quoting former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister D P Mishra, Mr Singh said that engineering riots or stopping them depended on the keenness of the Chief Minister.

Replacement of one Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh player by another would not solve the problem as the Sangh would continue to pilot the state Government and play its communal card to achieve petty political gains.

"For god’s sake, control the situation. Don’t allow the communal riots to go on," he said.

Asked why the Congress and some other opposition parties had only been pressing for Mr Modi’s removal, he pointed out that this was because Mr Modi was the "villian" and his Government was presiding over a "genocide".

Besides, the Assembly elections in that state were due early next year. As the poll date approaches, every political party had to prepare for it.

Asked about his controversial statements on issues such as the ban on the Students’ Islamic Movement of India, Babri Masjid demolition and teaching of astrology, which had reportedly not been taken kindly by some of his party’s central leaders, Mr Singh said, "I have given statements on issues where I thought it necessary for me to give a statement or clarify my stand.

"In politics, you have to be clear about what you stand for. All may not agree. But then you must have the courage of conviction of what you want to say. This is what I have done in my last eight-and-a-half years in office," the Chief Minister said.

However, Mr Singh denied that he had given any statement that had compromised his central leadership’s position.

He exuded confidence that the Congress would form Government at the Centre after the next Parliamentary elections.

"Congress will be very close to majority if it does not have majority," he said.

Asked whether he favoured return of the old guard to the party fold to revive the original strength of the Congress, he said that was for party president Sonia Gandhi and the working committee to decide.

To a question whether he had based his electoral forecast on the positive or negative vote, Mr Singh said, "in politics you just can’t differentiate between the two. The mistakes made by the opposition will definitely go to the advantage of the ruling party and vice-versa."

Referring to what he called the frequent changing of stand by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said that had distanced the Bharatiya Janata Party from the people.

" I have never seen Mr Vajpayee speaking in different tones on the same issue. Like on Gujarat, he said something in Ahmedabad and exactly the opposite in Goa."

Saying that he realised Mr Vajpayee’s ‘’predicament and compulsion to say something good enough to please his partners and the RSS,’’ Mr Singh said the ``conflicting’’ statements coming from a leader of high stature had shocked him.

"As political configuration stands today, no matter what the alliance partners may say, they cannot leave him. They will have to stay with him. They will fret, they will frown but they have no option, whether it is the Telugu Desam Party or Trinamool Congress."

Asked what type of leadership could steer the country out of the present crisis, he said, "it should be a strong leadership that believes in socialism and a secular democratic set-up, has the courage of conviction to carry out reforms whether financial, administrative or judicial, and has the vision to take the country ahead."(UNI)

Jayalalithaa gives up alliance politics

CHENNAI, May 13: AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has given a go by to alliance politics in the May 31 by-elections to three Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu with the party contesting all the seats.

Ms Jayalalithaa had also gone it alone in the by-election to the Andipatti seat, from where she was elected, polling more votes than the combined opposition.

However, the situation is not the same now as the party had not contested any of the three seats — Saidapet, Acharapakkam and Vaaniyambadi — in the May 2001 Assembly elections.

While Saidapet, traditionally a stronghold of the DMK, was held by that party, Acharapakkam, dominated by the backward Vanniyar community, was represented by the PMK. Vaaniyambadi, a Muslim dominant constituency, was held by the Indian National League (INL).

Both the PMK and the INL had contested the last Assembly elections as constituents of the AIADMK-led secular front.

This time, the PMK had moved over to the DMK-led front and the INL, which was denied the Vaniyambaadi seat by the AIADMK, is being backed by the Congress, the TMC and the left parties. However, a section of the INL has pledged support to the AIADMK candidate.

The INL in Tamil Nadu is in a disarray after the death of its state president and all India General Secretary M A Latheef.

Ms Jayalalithaa has taken a political gamble by fielding a Hindu as the party candidate in Vaaniyambadi. Analysts say her strategy is to consolidate the hindu votes in her party’s favour.

The BJP State unit, estranged with the DMK, a constituent of the NDA at the Centre, has declared to remain neutral at Vaaniyambadi while supporting the PMK in Acharapakkam and the MDMK in Saidapet. This neutrality is expected to help the AIADMK candidate.

While the DMK has put up party veteran and singer Nagoor E M Baniffa in Vaaniyambadi, the presence of MDMK and the INL in the fray is bound to split the opposition votes in favour of the AIADMK.

In Acharapakkam too, it is virtually a three-cornered contest with the AIADMK, the PMK supported by the DMK and the CPI backed by the TMC and the Congress locking horns. The opposition votes are divided here too.

It is no different in Saidapet, where apart from the AIADMK, DMK, and NDMK the CPI(M) too is in the fray.

Although a DMK bastion, saidapet fell to the AIADMK in 1991. (UNI)

Global community can now express legitimate concern: Sorabjee

JAIPUR, May 13: Attorney General Soli Sorabjee today said India cannot brush aside concern voiced by some foreign countries on the Gujarat situation saying the old dogmas of state sovereignty has changed and international community can now express "legitimate concern".

Speaking at the national seminar on "human rights in governance", Sorabjee said it was just not enough for Government to criticise superficially or express resentment over the critical reports of foreign countries.

"If their reports were incorrect, false or exaggerated, our response should be with facts or figures," he said, adding merely expressing the Government’s resentment or criticism to such reports gave "propaganda ammunition" to countries hostile to India.

Sorabjee said old dogmas of state sovereignty that gave a sovereign country the right to treat its citizens as it liked had been changed and the international community can now express legitimate concern over official or demonstrative state sponsored violation of human rights.

The inaction, or wilfful inaction, of a state to check violation of human rights was now being considered by the international fraternity as equal to violation of human rights. By the state itself.

This principle of state accountability is gaining ground and international obligation should also become legislative obligation in the countries,

Sorabjee also made an impassioned plea to people to come forward to establish the rule of law in Gujarat saying "silence is not the opinion" at the present junctaure.

Sorabjee said efforts should also be made to bridge the divide between majority and minority communities and to address a sense of helplessness among the people in Gujarat.

The perpetrators of crimes against humanity must be punished, however, influential one might be, he said, adding that there was an urgent need to create an atmosphere of goodwill in the land of Mahatma Gandhi.

He said the majority community should dispel the notion that the rights of minorities were some kind of privilege.

Similarly, the minority community should also understand that their rights did not give them the licence to break the law, he said.

Sorabjee also called for creating a "correct mindset" among police and other state agencies to recognise personal dignity of every individual. (PTI)

No differences in Jharkhand NDA

RANCHI, May 13: NDA’s Jharkhand convenor Gautam Sagar Rana today said he had dissociated himself from the NDA coordination committee and not resigned from his post.

Talking to UNI here, Mr Rana said he had dissociated himself from the coordination committee following "neglect" of allied partners in the Government’s decision making.

He said there was no question of resigning from the nda coordination committee. "We are meeting soon to thrash out our differences," he informed welcoming the initiative taken by Chief Minister Babulal Marandi.

Ruling NDA is united and together gearing up to counter its political rivals in Dumka where byelections are slated for May 31, he said adding the alliance partners are unitedly striving for the state’s overall development. "We have also prepared the draft of the common minimum programme of governance which will be made public after formal adoption at the next meeting of the coordination committee," Mr Rana said.

He said divergent views were natural in a democratic set up particularly when a coalition has members who are honest about the state’s development.

Mr Rana said his decision to dissociate from the NDA’s coordination committee was conveyed to the Chief Minister also. "We are peeved over the manner in which decisions were taken unilaterally by the BJP regarding the appointments to the corporations and boards and the coming Rajya Sabha elections," he added.

Incidentally, Mr Rana along with State Power Minister Lalchand Mahato, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ramchander Kesri and Minister of State for Excise and Samata Party state chief Ramesh Singh Munda had reportedly resigned to protest the "dictatorial style of functioning" of the BJP.

These members expressed reservation over the announcement of the BJP to field its state chief Abhay Kant Prasad for the elections to the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Jharkhand scheduled for May 30 despite the announcement of the samata party and the decision of the Janata Dal (United) to field candidates.

Mr Munda had even threatened to resign from the Council of Ministers and questioned the justification of the Samata’s remaining in the NDA as it was never consulted by the Chief Minister.

He said Samata was working with the BJP in Jharkhand out of compulsion as the alliance had been struck at the national level. (UNI)